Page 15 of More To Us

She turns to check him out. Her body immediately straightens and her hand grips the edge of the table. "Oh my God."

"What?" I lean in so she can hear me. "What's wrong?"

"I know him."

"Know who?"

"The lead singer." She rushes the words out, sounding out of breath.

"Dylan?"

"Yes! When they said Dylan, I didn't know it was THAT Dylan!" She checks the bar, where Matt is standing. "We have to go."

"Go? Go where?"

"Anywhere. We just have to get out of here."

"Why?"

"Because Dylan's here!" she yells at me, as if I should know why it matters that Dylan is here.

"I don't get it. How do you know him?"

She glances at him, then back at me. "I slept with him."

"You what? When?"

"Last May. At a party."

"You never said you were dating anyone last May."

"We weren't dating."

"You had a one-night stand?" I ask, a little too loudly.

"Shh!" She checks that Matt is still at the bar. "I'll tell you about it later. For now, we have to get out of here." She shoves her chair back. "Unless you want to stay. I could come pick you up later."

"No. Let's go."

We meet up with Matt at the bar and Amber tells him she isn't feeling well and needs to go home. When we get to our apartment, she tells Matt she'll call him later when she's feeling better. I'm sure he knows something's up. She was fine and then she was sick? It doesn't make sense.

Once he's gone, I sit on the couch while she stands, nervously biting her lip.

"Since when do you have one-night stands?" I ask, because Amber always moves slow with a guy, or at least she used to. She used to say a guy has to take her out, get to know her, and treat her well before she'll even consider having sex with him.

"I don't."

"You just said you did."

"Yes, but it was just one time and I'll never do it again."

"Then why'd you do it?"

She sighs. "I was taking this speech class last spring, and this girl gave a speech about the psychology of fear and how the things you fear are often the things you really want to do. But you don't admit to it because you don't want the pressure of actually having to do it."

"Are you saying you secretly always wanted to have a one-night stand?"

"Yes. I mean, no, not really." She sits next to me. "It was more like, I've always had this fantasy of meeting a guy who I have instant chemistry with, and then just acting on my desires and doing it. You know, like in the movies, when people meet and instantly want to rip each other's clothes off? That pure, undeniable passion that can't be controlled?"

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